Leveraging Community

I’m asking for your support and in return I’ve got something for you.

The Helping Spirit

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. Nelson Henderson

I thought about my Dad while pruning the apple trees he planted in an orchard that would not bear fruit, until after he passed. My family recently gathered to help Mom maintain her home.

Here I’m holding my nephew Ben’s son Eli, in front of the family bonfire where we burned those pruned limbs. Eli was conceived but not yet born when my Dad made his transition. It feels good to recognize my Dad’s loving spirit living on in his kinfolk.

Selfishness is Good

You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. Zig Ziglar.

From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing, which has any first and foremost object but one: to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for himself. Mark Twain

Even when we help others isn’t there a part of us that relishes the return in good feelings? Isn’t that a part of our motivation to help in the first place?

When you become truly selfish, you’ll have the extra reserves needed to really care about – and be generous with others. Thomas Leonard

The ruthless determination and the generous philanthropy of folks like Bill Gates and Richard Branson proves this point very well.

A Big Question

How could I solve my most pressing business challenge and at the same time possibly help many others even more than I help myself?

The Answer

By asking for your participation in a viral community building experiment. My most surprising blessing of blogging was realizing the generous spirit of service that bloggers combine with sound leveraging strategy.

I guess you could call this experiment a spiritual infomercial or an exercise in mutual hand washing.

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. Edward Everett Hale

I admit I’m a bit fearful of sticking my neck out but I’ll not let that stop me. I believe that together we can leverage our intentions to support one another in this experiment. I’m really curious to see how this is received.

 

If you are curious about my next innovative connection experiment contact me here and tell me why.

Comments

  1. Hi Tom,

    Your group coaching program sounds very interesting. Count me in!

    Let’s see, I’m a new entrepreneur, and my current biggest business challenge is how to bring this spiritual service (Akashic Record Reading) to those who are skeptic or afraid. I know it can help many people who are banging their heads against the invisible wall.

    One way I try to resolve this challenge is to write for Yes to Me blog, which is about spiritual healing and growth but doesn’t go so “woo woo” But I’m willing to learn other approaches or ways to improve my blog.

    Thank you, and blessings to you all,

    Akemi Gaines

    Akemi “spiritual entrepreneur” @ Yes to Mes last blog post..Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship, Part 4, Learn Marketing

  2. Jenny Mannion says

    Hi Tom,

    Count me in! Sounds great! I also wanted to stop by to let you know I mentioned Delightful Work in my last post.

    My blogging challenge is creating new products to market from my blog. I have my ebook, and over 100 posts I could possibly combine into ebooks… not sure what direction to go in.

    Thank you for starting this community and I will do my part to promote it – GREAT idea!

    Gratefully,
    Jenny

    Jenny Mannions last blog post..Blog Action Day — Take Action and Help Others Heal From Poverty

  3. I am in as well. I sent a message out on Twitter last night about your course and will continue to spread the word as someone who has already taken the class and gotten a lot out of it! Thank you for this Tom–fantastic idea.

    My biggest business challenge at this point is creating a more cohesive vision for what I want to offer to the world. Words and things like niche, brand, USP come to mind. But it really comes down to figuring out my target market more clearly and understanding how my unique skills, abilities, views and personality can combine to formulate a successful business and offer value to that market.

    With Tom’s one-on-one coaching which I recently signed on for I am making good progress in this area. Although the path is a little fuzzy right now, it is emerging more every day and I am both excited and confident about where my new business is going!

    Christines last blog post..Stuck in a Rut? Feeling Uninspired? 8 Quick Tips to Get Your Juices Flowing

  4. Hi Tom,

    I am in on the class and this community building!

    I did not have my laptop for a couple of days and I have quite a bit of catching up to do. But I think this is a great idea!

    I am working quite a bit towards my startup and cannot wait to see what your class will offer. I will register here shortly.

    I will tweet the link to your class as well.

    -Maya

    Mayas last blog post..Born Into Poverty : Blog Action Day 2008

  5. Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Services says

    Tom – I am SO in!

    My biggest challenge is not censoring myself. I’m making great strides in letting my true voice be heard, but there’s a LOT of conditioning to overcome in that process.

    I know I’m attracted to authenticity, so I know I should present my authentic self, even if some raise their eyebrows a bit. What I’m learning is that the people I’m here to serve really like the real me, as evidenced by the fact that I now have a ‘waiting list’ of clients. (How awesome is that??!!??)

    I invite everyone to go read my post about Tom’s idea here. It’s the real me talking.

    I’m off to Tweet, Stumble, Digg this now.

    -Suzanne

    Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Servicess last blog post..An Invitation and a Recommendation For You

  6. Hi all,

    My biggest business challenge is definitely introducing the entrepreneurial community to my intuitive consulting for business. Making effective business decisions is so important in the current economy – this is no time to keep running business based on trial and error. I think I’m running into the same issue as Akemi.

    By the way, Jenny …. I’m currently still offering free 15-minute consultations, if you want to try this service out, we can look at this question of yours from an energetic perspective! 🙂

    Blessings,
    Andrea

    Andrea Hess|Intuition In Businesss last blog post..Expanding Your Financial Frame of Reference

  7. Here’s me. And yes, I do…. have, eh… balls. 😉

    My business challenge is in securing a start-up capital for the business plan I put together.

    In a nutshell, it’s a multi-blog enterprise with a twist, offering music downloads in addition and online coaching/mentoring programs added down the road.

    Please do come visit my pilot blog, OurBestVersion.com — October is my 6-month period and I’m trying to ramp up the traffic growth, to prove my impending success to investors and loan officers.

    Thanks!

    ari

    Ari Koinumas last blog post..What I Force My Children to Learn, or Not (Digest)

  8. Hi Tom – This is a great idea for building community, helping others and getting something in return. It’s definitely a win-win. It will be a fascinating project to follow. I’m subscribing to future comments.

    P.S. Thank you for the mention.

    Barbara Swaffords last blog post..Promote Your Blog On The Blog Registry

  9. Hi Tom: What a great idea! I want to participate. My greatest challenge right now is creating a traffic-generation strategy for my blog. Sometimes I get over 10,000 visits in one day, and sometimes I get a little over 500 visits a day. This makes me feel like I’m kind of shooting in the dark and sometimes hitting the bull’s eye and other times pretty much missing it. I would rather get 2000 visits a day consistently than be all over the map like I am now.

    Marelisas last blog post..Eradicating Poverty Through Human Ingenuity – Blog Action Day 2008

  10. Mark McCullagh says

    Being giving and less self-centered is a topic dear to me.

    I like these quotes:

    “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

    – Acts 20:35

    “…give and it will be given to you; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

    – Luke 6:38

    Mark McCullaghs last blog post..Update Your Ping List To Instantly Create 100’s of Quality Backlinks

  11. All – talk about a heart-warming! I’m so honored by the authenticity and quality of the strong women who have decided to throw their hats into this ring. I know all of them and they are determined and confident all.

    I’m most appreciate for all of your efforts in spreading the word. This experiment will work best of course, when more bloggers summon the courage to join us. That’s right I said courage. This is an untested venture into the unknown and the very least you’ll receive is visits and comments from great bloggers you have yet to meet.

    It kind of makes you wonder where the balls are on the male blogging community? Any guys out there who feel like being bold? Yes that’s a gauntlet I’ve just thrown.

    What is the best that may come from this experiment? That’s up to you and how big you can think.

    Readers – if you haven’t clicked through for details then you haven’t read about the group coaching call we are holding this Friday. There I’ll address a couple of the business challenges and see what the group can contribute as well.

    Everyone if you haven’t registered your blog at Barbara’s registry do so. She keeps very good company over there.

    Suzanne has really written a powerful testimonial to the coaching we do together. Take a look and while your there check out her excellent SEO for beginners series.

    As the week goes on and more challenges are presented I’ll be sure to mention all of you. Thanks for playing!

  12. *** One more very important note. ****

    Non-Blogging business folks and those of you who have yet to start your own business.

    You are very welcome to play as well.

    Feel free to comment and visit as many of the participating blogs as you care to.

    You may also join in on the call free coaching Friday at noon.

    You may also present your business challenge for us to take a crack at.

  13. Jenny Mannion says

    Hi and thank you for advice already!

    Andrea – I already emailed you and BOY am I looking forward to our session!

    Akemi — thank you SOO much for the wonderful suggestion — an easy way to put up a product and something I didn’t even THINK of!

    Tom — I am really looking forward to this. I am leaving tomorrow for a long (much needed) weekend away but will be twittering tomorrow morning about your course and will be back on Sunday. Thanks again for this opportunity!

    Gratefully, Jenny

    Jenny Mannions last blog post..Blog Action Day — Take Action and Help Others Heal From Poverty

  14. OK, I’ll man up and accept your challenge Tom!

    This bartering of advice to build a community sounds like a very interesting idea, and one that is due for success.

    Right now, it’s tough to single out one particular area as my biggest business challenge. Tom and I had a few coaching sessions where we developed a strategy to build plans and follow through on them with great success, and we worked to iron out many issues that existed and improve the strengths in the company and my personal role within the company.

    The company, The 42nd Estate, is basically a network of various web-sites. So far we’ve launched our first three sites in the past month and slowly but surely they’re starting to take off.

    Our intent is to have a nice big network of diverse sites and blogs and also to expand into providing services, such as web design, blog creation, marketing, and freelance writing. The freelance writing service especially strikes me as a potential big portion of the business as we have a nice cadre of great writers covering a pretty wide spectrum of styles.

    Our biggest challenge right now would be to continue launching and hosting sites with great content, while also expanding into providing the above mentioned services. Right now we have 2 full-time members and three part-time members so time is a limitation. Looking at the numbers, I’m extremely confident that if given enough capital we could hire a few more talented people full-time and really make the company take off, but in the current market getting capital would obviously be very challenging. So as is, with our somewhat limited team it’ll prove tough over the coming months to keep our content creation up while also expanding into services for clients.

    Though I cite it as our biggest challenge, I’m actually quite confident that we as a team can overcome the challenge and be successful. Each day we see a little piece of the puzzle come together and prove step by step that our work is paying off. Heck, we’re already slightly ahead of schedule right now by even considering offering services soon!

    Adam Pieniazeks last blog post..Got a Business Card? Help Set a World Record!

  15. When Suzanne invited me to this experiment, I saw immediately how powerful this could be — and I want to be part of it. So please count me in.

    I see that we have some pretty special people here, which tells me that together we can do something REALLY good.

    And here’s my challenge:

    What can we do or create that will make a significant difference for people to thrive and prosper in the days ahead? What would really help them get a foothold to stand on something solid and build from? Let’s do that!

    Joyfully,

    Nancy

    Nancy Boyds last blog post..Safe Harbor Formula

  16. Jenny,
    This is not a advice directly to your question, but I suggest playing up your involvement in that LOA book. On your sidebar, put a large image of the book (sure, amazon affiliate link would be fine, too) and say something like “MY STORY IS IN THIS BOOK!” Many people really appreciate published materials.

    Koinuma-san,
    I have read your business plan, which was wonderful. I don’t know much about music industry, but I think you have a nice clear niche.

    Akemi “spiritual entrepreneur” @ Yes to Mes last blog post..Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship, Part 4, Learn Marketing

  17. Count me in! I’m here to support you and watch this experiment grow. I have a meeting at noon EST Friday – otherwise I would be on the call.

    Stacey / Create a Balances last blog post..Introducing My Authentic Self

  18. I will participate. I’m not sure if the “response comment” is to go on this post, or the Leveraging Community post. I’ll put it on both and let you approve the correct one.

    I am most interested in spreading the word about my website development business and getting my blog in front of more potential customers to allow them to hear my messages.

    Clem – Power On The Webs last blog post..Understanding Ecommerce and Merchant Services

  19. Tom,
    I’m curious and will play!
    In exchange, I will listen to all participants and offer help as inspired.
    John

    Johns last blog post..Action Relieves Stress When Financial Times are Tough

  20. Blessings to you, Tom, for the good work you do.
    CG

    CG Walterss last blog post..Guest Blogger: Kala Ambrose

  21. What a great way to look at connecting with other people. I agree. We do need to give back otherwise people won’t be inclined to listen and give back to us. It’s not about giving to get back, but about giving because we can and any Karma that results from our actions is just the whip cream on top.

    Karl Staib – Work Happy Nows last blog post..50/50 Effect

  22. I’ve been out of town, with limited access – but I’m back now — and this sounds like a wonderful idea. Count me in! I’ll do what I can to get the word out. I know, from personal experience – that you offer an excellent program!

    Lances last blog post..Life Balance: A Very Personal Pyramid

  23. I want to learn and share. This sounds like a really caring community. Thank you.

  24. I’m in!

    Susan/Together We Flourishs last blog post..Highmark Shop to Stop Domestic Violence

  25. Experiment Clarifications & Questions Answered

    First of all – thank you all for playing and getting pumped about trying something different. Together we are so much stronger than alone.

    If you are in you have agreed to #1-4 here in the ground rules.
    http://www.delightfulwork.com/community-building-experiment/

    Please let me know if I have misread your commitment; so far I count 14 players and 4 well wishers or supporters.

    The Players are – Akemi, Jenny, Andrea, Christine, Maya, Suzanne, Ari, Susan, Adam, Nancy, Marelisa, Clem, John and Stacey. What a winning team to coach!

    Supporters are – Mark, Barbara, CG and Karl. Thanks guys we appreciate your support. 🙂

    This is a crucial day to get the word out and invite other bloggers. This will work best if everyone gets to meet at least 5 bloggers who they did not know before we began.

    A quick invitation email to your blogging buddies saying that you are playing works well. A link in a post or a recommendation also will work. I noticed that not everyone has stumbled this. Please do so and make a mention in whatever social media you engage.

    It doesn’t matter if you can make the call or not because we will be doing the commenting and business challenge help after Friday.

    Tune in for more soon and be sure to register for the call if you want to join us on Friday.

  26. Sounds exciting, Tom.
    Count me in too.

    My greatest challenge is creating a strong web-presence.

    Blessings,
    Michelle

    Michelle Lees last blog post..In the World but Not of It…

  27. Hi Tom! This is such a great idea. I’m very interested in being in the group. My challenge right now is just exposure for my blog. I started in June 2008 and I have a newsletter list hovering around 130 moms. Is it really true that the only way to grow a blog list is to comment on other blogs? I have been doing that, but maybe it takes awhile? Perhaps I need to do it more? Looking forward to receiving your help.

    Raelees last blog post..Spiritual Care

  28. Tom,
    I wish you well! I appreciate the chance to offer open arms to help others do what they are gifted to do. I have created a special post to promote the week.
    Thanks for all you do to enhance the lives of others.

    Harmonys last blog post..BUSINESS COACHING FOR BEGINNERS

  29. Whoops – My greatest challenge…hmmmm.
    Getting out of my own way – moving past my own doubts and getting to bed when I am posting blogs! 🙂

    Harmonys last blog post..BUSINESS COACHING FOR BEGINNERS

  30. Welcome to our five newest players, Lance, Irene, Harmony, Michelle and Raelee! We are 19 strong and growing. The business challenge call is today at noon, register here http://www.delightfulwork.com/community-building-experiment/ if you still intend to join us and have not registered. Look for an email with prep instructions for the call to come soon.

    Read new instructions here http://www.delightfulwork.com/community-building-experiment/ on authentic commenting. It’s time to begin that portion of our experiment. More later on the business challenge help

    I extend warm thanks to Suzanne, Harmony and Christine for posting about my course. Please visit them and comment – links are below.

    http://harmonythiessen.com/blog/entry/43174/business-coaching-for-beginners

    http://thebonbonlife.com/coaching-and-mentoring/personal-coaching-propel-small-biz-success/

    http://www.vassistantsvcs.com/an-invitation-and-a-recommendation-for-you/

    Has anyone else posted or mentioned the experiment in a post or link love? I’d like to recognize you if you have and Google Alerts doesn’t always pick everything up. Please don’t feel as though you need to recommend me in these posts. Just a link and invitation for others to join in the experiment is fine. I believe that we are creating a lasting community bond here with far greater benefit than traditional commenting alone.

  31. Thank you, Tom, for today’s tele-class. It was informational, enlightening and fun.

    You energy is awesome.
    Blessings,
    Michelle

    Michelle Lees last blog post..Why Not Choose Peace…or Joy?

  32. Kristy Roth says

    Hey Tom- I am in even if I missed out already! I would have loved to have made the call but I was at an off site meeting all day.

    My business challege is Threefold. 1.) I am a total blogger rookie, 2.) I’m convinced more than ever that I am a renaissance Soul and Scanner! (Hey, maybe I am not ADHD after all :))
    3.) Petrified of public speaking, and have a hard time getting my words out right. (kind of like my brain is going faster than my mouth)

    When I discovered there was a job such as “life coach”, I immediately thought it to be the “AH HA” epiphany I had been waiting for. I’m a compassionate person and love to help and see people succeed, so I figured that was the perfect job for me. You introduced me to the blogging world and it’s a bit overwhelming, but in a good way. However, I am more interested in reading other people’s articles more than I am writing my own for my blog. I must admit, I am not compelled to come home and write after work. Am I forcing something that I shouldn’t?

    I haven’t even got my first pro bono client yet and I am already wanting to go on to the next thing (which is more complex, but very exciting for me). (All in the while, still going to continue with the career coaching.)

    Public Speaking….Ahh..the thought makes me cringe. So how do I market myself as a coach if I’m afraid to public speak and struggle with writing good articles?

  33. I realize that I am late for this. I know a person or two who may be interested in building an authentic business. I’d ask them directly. Hope that you’ve still got some more space in your next coaching class.

    Evelyn Lims last blog post..Can You Read My Mind?

  34. Dear Tom,
    Friday’s phone call left me with a wonderful new sense of community. One I never thought I would find on the World Wide Web.
    I look forward to next weeks classes.

  35. Hey Tom, This sounds like a great idea!
    Maybe I could use this to promote my beautiful island, Isla Mujeres in Mexico?
    It`s a tropical paradise!

  36. Tom,

    I have gone back and started reading again many of your past blogs. You truly possess such an insight into life and the problems that people must deal with on a daily basis. You ask alot of excellent questions which give me cause to stop and ask myself where I got some of my limiting beliefs. Thanks Tom for sharing your gift with me.

    Nick

  37. Welcome to Evelyn and Kristy – there is no late only yes or no. They are in. There is no reason why we can’t keep this going for the highest good of all. Just read the ground rules and proceed accordingly.

    Karl – correction – Karl has moved from the supporters camp to the where the action is. Karl is in.

    So that makes a total of 22 active players. How many of their blogs have you visited and commented on? I know the requirement is only 5 but who does the minimum? There are at least 6 pretty new bloggers playing who would really appreciate your support. The next time you’re reading and posting check out all the blogs who are new to you.

    IsaLife – yes perhaps you could use this experiment to promote your island and I accepted your comment so I could offer some feedback. I can’t tell from your comment whether you want to play or not. Commitment requires clarity.

    You are certainly welcome if you want to. But if you do want to,
    I find it hard to bond with an island. There is no about page, a picture of a human being, a name or contact form on your blog (unless I missed them). That makes community building tough!

    Michelle & Irene, I’m pleased that you found the teleclass valuable. I want to thank both of you and participants, John, Akemi, Suzanne and Ari for sharing so generously in an exceptional mastermind experience.

    All – you may have picked up on this already. My original intention was to combine phone coaching and blog support to create an extended community of higher value than one creates from just commenting alone.

    Nick – greetings, I’m pleased that you are connecting to the insight.

    Jenny – gave a heads up positive mention of this post in her recent gratitude post. If you want to see a great example of how to thank others visit her here.
    http://jennymannion.com/healpain/2008/10/gratitude-gratitude-and-more-gratitude/

    Please let me know if you have written about this experiment or are intending to. For some reason Google Alerts and my word press dashboard has been missing mentions and I want to be sure that I acknowledge you.

    Thanks to all but we’ve only just begun. Have you kept your agreements? Have you gifted a return comment to all the bloggers you’ve met in this experiment? Have you kept up reading the rules and the post comments? Of course if you don’t read this how would you know? 😉

    How else can we leverage this community for the greater good of all?

    More on addressing the business challenges to come.

  38. Hi Tom,

    Please add me to the supporters. 🙂

    I am happy to place a text link on my blog’s homepage, for a month, free of charge. email me if you’re interested vered AT momgrind DOT com.

    Best,

    Vered

    Vered – MomGrinds last blog post..Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

  39. Hi Tom: I haven’t been able to participate in the calls but I have visited four new blogs from those listed here and have been visited by three people. Tomorrow I’ll come back and look for a few more people to visit 🙂

    Marelisas last blog post..Four Ways to Achieve a Productive State of Mind

  40. Brett Legree says

    Tom,

    Apologies for not getting back here sooner – count me in, please, if it is not too late. I plan to make up for my tardiness… 😉

    I’ll stop by some of the other blogs of the folks I’ve not visited before to see what great stuff all of you are doing!

    -Brett

    Brett Legrees last blog post..viking fridays – tears in the rain.

  41. Yes count me in! Why not?

    I write a Mindset Optimization blog where I share the great life-improvement secrets ‘hidden opnely’ in the bible. I write poems with embedded principles and then follow this up with explanatory commentary.

    My objective and challenge is to build my bog into a competent, reliable and recommended site on the blogosphere.

    The principles I pratice and teach work; I have called upon the Intelligence’ behind all phenomena to send to me Teachers who can broaden and increase my knowledge base and help me spread the word of ‘Positive Thinking’. And here I am and here you – Tom Volkar – are!

  42. Vered – that’s an extremely generous offer and I accept. Email is on the way. I’m pleased to count you among our honored supporters.

    Michael – welcome to our community leveraging experiment. Please read all of the posts and jump right into supportive commenting, first on those blogs that you have never visited.

    Players – how’s it working for you? I’m asking for feedback through email or right here in the form of a comment. This experiment is just now getting mentioned in the blogosphere. What do you say? Want to ride the wave of support for a while?

  43. So far I have had 6 comments on my blog from this experiment and I have commented on 5 and plan to check out more.

    I am glad to see so many people getting involved. It’s such a great way to discover both new blogs and like-minded souls out there!

    Christines last blog post..Personal Coaching: How Can it Propel Your Small Biz Success?

  44. I’m in if it’s not too late.

    What attracts me is the emphasis on authenticity.

    I won’t be able to do the calls (I’m in Australia) but I’ll spread the word about the course – because it is about authenticity and business.

    Wishing you every possible success.

  45. Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Services says

    Tom – I think I’ve been to everyone’s blog and commented at least once. I’ve had 10 comments that I can trace directly back to this experiment. As new people join, I make a point to visit their sites, too, and comment. Yes, this takes time in an already busy schedule, but I’ve found some great blogs in the process that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.

    (Evan, I’m getting a page load error when I try to visit your site – just wanted you to know. And Michaelkpoh – I don’t see a way to leave a comment at your site??)

    Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Servicess last blog post..Project Powerful and Positive

  46. Hi Tom and my fellow bloggers,

    I’ve had the honor to visit and comment 4 new blogs from here, and a few more blogs that I knew before but somehow lost track of. It’s been fun!

    I’m looking forward to interviewing you for my Interview With Successful Entrepreneurs series.

    Akemi “spiritual entrepreneur” @ Yes to Mes last blog post..Inside Out Approach To Entrepreneurship, Part 5, Build Your System

  47. My challenge I think is getting more readers who will then become customers.

  48. Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Services says

    Evan – thanks for letting us know! I’ve visited your site and have bad news for you: You have to take back the idiot comment, because there’s no way an idiot could write a quality blog like yours! I very much enjoyed what I read and will definitely be back! 🙂

    Suzanne Bird-Harris | vAssistant Servicess last blog post..Project Powerful and Positive

  49. Thanks Suzanne.

    This’ll be because I’m an idiot. I left my web address as .com when it is actually .net.

    Evan

    Evans last blog post..Authentic Business

  50. Hey Tom, and all…

    I have visited several blogs and will continue to visit more. In the meantime, I have gotten a few comments on my blog as well. It’s an enlightening and enjoyable experience.

    Clem

    Clem – Power On The Webs last blog post..Understanding Ecommerce and Merchant Services

  51. MareLisa, Suzanne, Akemi, Christine and Clem – thanks for checking in and sharing how it’s working for you. Ironically by instigating this experiment on commenting, I’ve created a wild horse that I’m barely hanging on to; so my own commenting time has shrunk. But that’s the beauty of leverage. By leveraging community many of you have gotten far more traffic than I as one could have ever helped you with. ‘m grateful and I love playing new games. This is just the beginning. Now that I know who else likes to play – you’ll hear from me again when that wild hair needs scratching. 🙂

    Brett and Evan – welcome guys. Read the comment trail and the ground rules and you can catch up quite nicely. No need to apologize for lateness. This experiment is still growing so if you know of any new blogs who need a boost invite them on in.

    Evan I’ve fixed your URL under the previous two comments so you are no longer an idiot. 🙂 Now your a genius because you have triple the exposure.

  52. Hi Tom, Boy you are busy.
    I trust that today you are looking back on your project and that you have gotten the folks you were looking for in your program. I know I was subscribed to the comments on this post and my box is overflowing.

    I am in the middle of a few big days and I have not read the comments (if any) on my blog yet _EEEEEKS I came to yours first!, and I have not wandered around to some of these other sites to visit.

    I am late, but committed. I will, by tonight, have visited several of the commenters here. I look forward to meeting folks in their “business” and learning what your community is up to.

    Thanks for this wonderful idea and collaberative opportunity. My hopes are that your cup runneth over in your coaching group as well.

    Harmony

    Harmonys last blog post..BUSINESS COACHING FOR BEGINNERS

  53. Hi Tom and everyone,

    Sorry I missed the call; I was traveling and only now getting back into the stream of things. (I did tweet about this before I left, though.)

    Today I’ll be visiting and commenting on as many blogs as I can here. You are all up to some very cool things! I am honored to make your acquaintances, and hope that in our connections we can extend some more strength joy to the world ~ and to each other.

    Thanks Tom for being an awesome “playground creator” 🙂

    Nancy

    Nancy Boyds last blog post..Your Hidden Link to Create Whatever You Want In Life

  54. Hi Tom,

    I have visited and commented 6 “new to me” blogs and have enjoyed getting to know people this way.

    At least 6 people have commented on mine.

    This is great fun. Thank you for creating this opportunity for us.
    Many Blessings,
    Michelle Lee

    Michelle Lees last blog post..Why Not Choose Peace…or Joy?

  55. Thanks for fixing my mistake Tom.

    If only moving from idiot to genius were always so easy!

    Evans last blog post..Authentic Business

  56. Harmony – looks like another late night for you commenting away. 🙂 Be sure to have fun and work in the spirit of authentic community that is so core to who you are. Thanks for asking about my current class. The numbers are small but the spirits are high. I think this experiment with your help and everyone else’s, will certainly make a big difference in enrollment for my January class.

    Michelle – many blessings back at you. Thanks for the report and congrats on six new blogger friends.

    There is a lot being written now about commenting, it’s purpose, the feeling of obligation and tit for tat. Everyone needs to just relax and support their fellow bloggers in the way that feels right for them. What’s authentic for you is more than enough.

    Hope you’re all reading this comment trail as agreed because I have a tip for you on how to get mentioned with the link of your choice on a A list blog. Liz Strauss is celebrating her third blogging anniversary and is offering to post a link of your blog in celebration. Talk about community building! The last I checked she had upwards of 180 comments on her post. I told her that we were going to go over and crash her party and she said bring it on! Here’s the link – see you over there.
    http://www.successful-blog.com/1/the-mic-is-on-happy-3rd-birthday-to-sobs-everywhere/

    Evan – perhaps it is that easy. I’d like to recognize Evan for posting about our experiment here.
    http://wellbeingandhealth.net/

    I’d also like to recognize my fellow coach Tim Brownson for sending folks this way as well. Tim’s not playing in this one but he still wished us well with a link. When you feel like an intelligent laugh pay him a visit.
    http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/wordpress/

    It’s not too late to invite a few others to our party by dropping a link yourself. We do not have to subscribe to any limits of time. We make it all up anyway. This can keep going as long as it has life.

    Coaching Tip on the business challenges. How about we do this?
    Read down the challenges and pick one that you feel qualified to share an idea or direction on. It’s best to share something that has worked for you experientially so you’re confident that it may work for another.

    We aren’t actually coaching here but we can share a tip that could really help our fellow bloggers with a a path to explore.

    Interestingly this is exactly what happened naturally on this post.
    http://www.delightfulwork.com/2008/10/27/clarity-empowers-progress/

    Christine posed a question that was expertly addressed by myself, JB and Suzanne. Take a look and you’ll see.

  57. Hi Tom,

    Checking in to let everyone know I posted comments on 10 or 11 blogs and received 7 comments back so far. And the great thing is, ALL of those comments were thoughtful and very interesting ~ exactly what I’d hoped when I started the blogs (I’m currently working with two.)

    Today is rather packed but I’m declaring my intentions to read every post here and look at the challenges.

    Also here’s another challenge I’m facing. (And you know something? At first I didn’t even realize it IS a challenge, because it’s just something that has to get done!)

    We have a leak in the roof and need to get the roof replaced; and while we’re at it, we will be putting down a floor in the attic so that I can store my overload files up there and get my office space functional again. (Think clutter to the nth extreme. . . )
    Now THAT is a challenge for sure! And I need to get this done before snowfall. (Two counties north of us already had snow this year. . . )

    So today I’m checking references of our top two roofer picks. Which is why I’m not committing to more tasks than that!

    Nancy

    Nancy Boyds last blog post..Your Hidden Link to Create Whatever You Want In Life

  58. I, too, visited several new blogs, and plan to do so again today or tomorrow. It’s been a good avenue to discover new bloggers.

    That said, this commenting thing is a poor format for dialogues. May I suggest forming a more proper group environment in either Yahoo or Google groups? I am subscribed to comments but it’s been very hard to follow threads of conversations.

    ari

    Ari Koinumas last blog post..This Is the Sound of Your Ripping Yourself into Pieces (Digest)

  59. Nancy – I like your style. Bold declarations are so powerful. Thanks for checking in and reporting on your progress. I’d say that the experiment is a success. I’m intending to address some business challenges soon but don’t look for me to come over and crawl up on your roof. 🙂

    Ari – thanks for checking in and playing. I’m happy it’s working for you. I realize that this format holds some limitations and more of a forum type gathering spot may be better. I’d like to ride this one out in this format and talk to you about possible improvements the next time around. Thanks for your suggestions.

  60. Hello again Tom, and all….

    I have been to everyone’s blog. If anyone thinks I missed you, please let me know. I’ll be happy to come by.

    Also, I will be revisiting several again!

    Clem – Power On The Webs last blog post..Understanding Ecommerce and Merchant Services

  61. Players – I want to thank you all for joining in and playing in the best spirit of community blogging.

    My realizations from this experiment are many. But the greatest is this: There is a need for further authentic connection among bloggers and I’m very grateful that so many of you stepped up and did what you could to connect.

    That means I’ll be sounding the gathering horn again someday and who knows I may even be a bit more organized. 🙂

    If you want to offer feedback of any variety (my skin is thick) please offer it here or in an email.

    I understand the pluses and minuses of using a comment
    platform for this kind of group. The first time I did something like this I used facebook groups. I’ll check out your other suggestions the next time around.

    Coaching on Challenges – I now realize that it would have been better to be more narrow in my challenge question so themes would have naturally surfaced. Those of you who made the coaching call got great value. But perhaps I was overly ambitious to think that coaching value could have come through answering comments alone.

    I’m a coach and I found it difficult because if you’re going to coach in the written word an exchange of questions and answers in an instant messaging format would have worked better to reach an essential point of beginning understanding.

    Sorry I dropped the ball on this but that’s the freedom of a free experiment. I’ll happily refund anyone everything they paid for this. 🙂

    So next time around I’ll be even more exact in my instructions and tighter in my setup questioning.

  62. Jenny Mannion says

    Hey Tom,
    Thank you for the experiment. I was exposed to new blogs, incredible people and subscribed to a bunch. You attract GREAT people and I will still be checking out the few I haven’t made it to yet – thank you! 🙂
    gratefully,
    Jenny

    Jenny Mannions last blog post..Gratitude, Gratitude and MORE Gratitude

  63. Hi Tom. I followed my way to this post via a link on Maya’s blog. Somehow I missed this post even though I am subscribed. It sounds like you generated a lot of enthusiasm around this project. My biggest challenge right now is getting my own coaching business off the ground, so I can appreciate what you are doing here. Keep up the good work!

    Davinas last blog post..A Ghostly Life Experience

  64. Jenny – your welcome. You are a great player and I look forward to playing again with you on other community efforts.

    Davina – Yep you’ve got to love enthusisam. 🙂 I’ll bet if you visited a few of these folks and commented that they would still be enthused to meet you. I’ll be sure that you get notified the next time we build community with something special.

  65. I love that Zig quote… It’s something I’ve been thinking about lately. There is always this stigma surrounding being selfish, but IMO being selfish is good, because it makes you grow and want to become more, and as a result have a positive influence on more people.

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  1. […] business coach, Tom Volkar of Delightful Work, had an impromptu little community in which bloggers visited each other and shared their business […]

  2. […] keeps many from choosing. A couple of participants on a recent group coaching call, supporting our community leveraging experiment, admitted as […]

  3. Interview: Tom Volkar of Delightful Work | Real Life Spirituality says:

    […] he helps new and aspiring entrepreneurs to have the business of their dreams. He recently made a community call, which attracted many bloggers. (Photo by […]

  4. […] Thank you Tom for letting me participate in the wonderful idea you have set into motion with your Leveraging Community. I know many will benefit from it and I encourage anyone looking to start or build their business […]

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